


A Song of Vengeance

by xAoneko



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Betrayals, Gen, Gray Morality, Insecurity, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), Tragedy, characterization over plot, dont read unless you want to be sad/frustrated/upset, inspired by Drakengard 3, lots of fighting, power through songs, psychopathic character, selfish hero, you won't know whether to hate or love the characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-08-19 10:44:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20208463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAoneko/pseuds/xAoneko
Summary: Twelve brothers live in a world ruled by the power of song. However, one of these brothers seeks to kill the others, and he won't rest until all of them are dead.





	A Song of Vengeance

**Author's Note:**

> As shown in the tags, this is gonna be quite a frustrating/heartbreaking story. Each EXO member is meant to represent some twisted aspect of humanity, and there is no set "good guy" or "bad guy." Characterization is the main focus of this story, so pay attention to each member's actions and beliefs.
> 
> Beta'ed by [Liv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiviaWavern14/profile), who also happens to have a nice singing voice if I do say so myself

_Several years ago, when war and corruption ravaged the land, eleven youthful gods descended from the sky._

_Using powers exerted through song, these gods put an end to the era of suffering and brought forth an era of rebirth and peace. As a result, people began to worship these gods, whom they referred to as ‘Lords.’_

_Under the rule of these Lords, the fear of oppression faded like a nightmare, and humanity found new hope and camaraderie in their brightened dreams of – _

The historian choked, blood dripping from his mouth. A white blade protruded from his chest, tip piercing the parchment and table before him. The quill slipped from his hand drifted to the floor as he coughed, blood staining the parchment a bold crimson.

“You,” he snarled, turning to glare at his attacker, “traitorous bastard.”

The sword twisted and sliced through the man’s body, splattering the walls and floor of the room with an arc of blood. Silenced, the historian slumped forward.

“Bastard?” Kris repeated as he lowered his sword, “I think you mean Lord.”

The sound of an explosion thundered through the air at the same time the walls around Kris collapsed, shards of stone, glass, and wood scattering and slicing at his skin. Undeterred, Kris jumped out the window, somersaulting through the air before he drove his blade through the neck of the soldier he landed on. The body beneath him went limp, and Kris pulled the sword out, straightening up to survey the troops surrounding him in the street.

The soldiers closest to him raised their weapons and charged at him after letting out shaky battle cries. A corner of Kris’s mouth quirked up in a smirk, amused that a few measly soldiers thought that they would be enough to stop him.

Then, he was back in the air. His sword gleamed in the sunlight as Kris flew around the street, cutting down soldier after soldier. Blood spewed from beneath ruined armor, splashing Kris’ white clothes and dying them bright red. The last soldier fell, and finally, the street was quiet as Kris stood in the center of the carnage.

A shout came from above, and Kris looked up at the reinforcements wheeling in their cannons. A soldier – the captain – raised an arm and pointed down at Kris in an order to shoot, but they were too slow as Kris spoke a command of his own.

“Ludin.”

There was a searing hiss before jade-green flames erupted on the ledge, drowning the cannons and soldiers in a burning inferno. Multiple explosions sounded as the cannons combusted, and Kris’ cloak flapped wildly in the shockwaves that swept through the area.

Kris heard the low growl behind him, followed by the thud and scuff of something heavy landing on the stone. The dragon bowed his great head, deep violet scales shining in the harsh light and smoke billowing from his mouth. With the screech of claws on rock, the dragon – Ludin – crawled forward to hover over Kris, opening his mouth in a hoarse roar. Green embers flared and crackled in his throat. Then, Ludin snuffed out the sparks and shut his jaws, lowering himself into a more relaxed crouch.

Kris hefted his sword onto his shoulder. “Time to kill the Lords.”

Ludin snorted and spread his dark wings. As the dragon launched himself into the sky, Kris followed the path on foot, heading deeper into the Central City. He heard the rhythmic crunching of sabatons on rock before catching sight of the platoon of soldiers striding towards him. With a quick glance at Ludin, who was circling above him, the dragon reduced the enemies into another pile of smoldering ash and cinders.

As the flames died down, Ludin chuffed and landed on top of a building. “Do you hear the things they’re saying?” the dragon asked.

Kris had most certainly heard some of the things the soldiers shouted before they went down in the green inferno. “Yeah,” he replied, “I don’t know who’s teaching them the bullshit that Lords are supposed to be peaceful.”

“Well, they must realize by now that that is a lie.”

“I dunno,” Kris muttered, “They don’t look or sound smart enough for that.”

Ludin didn’t have time to respond before another squad of soldiers came running forward. Kris frowned as he took in the sight of the tower shields the front line carried. They looked sturdy, and he doubted that his sword would be able to slice through easily. He couldn’t order Ludin to burn them because they were already drawing close, and Kris would be caught in the dragon’s flames as well.

However, as Kris surveyed the soldiers struggling to move freely with the long shields, he realized that he wouldn’t have to worry about cutting through. As long as he could find an opening, slipping past the shields was a simple task. From there, he could cut down the soldiers as easily as cutting through a soft stick of butter.

The soldiers howled as Kris swept through their ranks. Over the sound of breaking armor and metal slicing through flesh, Kris could hear their desperate shouts.

“Someone stop this monster!”

“Don’t let him reach the Tower!”

“Kill the traitorous bastard!”

Their cries were cut short as Kris brought down the last few soldiers. He stood over them with an expression of disgust. “It looks like my brothers didn’t bother teaching you how to fight but taught you how to talk instead.”

“Kris,” Ludin piped up, “remember to stay calm.”

Kris grumbled, “I _am _calm. I just want to get this over with already.” The sound of a cannon echoed through the air, and Kris jumped out of the way of the fireball that landed where he was standing seconds ago. He and Ludin looked up to see several cannoneers a good distance away, and as Kris watched, another cannoneer pointed a cannon at him and fired.

“You handle that,” Kris ordered, evading the second blast that sent debris raining down on him. “I’ll go on ahead.”

“Understood.” Ludin took off, hanging in the air like a vengeful spirit as he chased down the cannoneers. Kris continued down the path at a light jog, wiping blood off his face.

No more soldiers accosted him, but it wasn’t long before Kris saw the tall figure in the distance and groaned. Unfortunately, this enemy couldn’t be avoided because it noticed him as well and began lumbering in his direction with slow, heavy steps. The broadsword in the creature’s hand dragged on the ground, eliciting an earsplitting screech as the metal ground against the stone.

Kris swore under his breath. “Fuck D.O and his fucking Titans.”

It almost seemed as though the Titan heard him as it raised its broadsword and brought it down with a terrifying strength. The blade smashed into the concrete with a loud crunch, leaving deep cracks and fissures at the point of collision. Before the Titan could pick its sword back up, Kris jumped onto the weapon, dashing along its length before leaping into the air and striking at the Titan’s featureless face with his own sword. The creature staggered back but did not fall, leaning on its broadsword as it regained its balance.

Kris leaped off the Titan. His cloak fluttered as he soared through the air and landed a few paces away from the Titan. This time, he darted for the Titan’s peg-like feet, hacking and slashing at the metal until his sword sliced through. Now that its feet were uneven, the Titan’s balance disappeared along with its foot, and it stumbled and dropped to its hands and knees. Without wasting a second, Kris swung his sword at the Titan’s neck.

Unfortunately, his sword only managed to sever the neck halfway, and since the Titan had no blood to lose or choke on, the wound did nothing. Before Kris could cut its head off completely, the Titan’s hand stretched out. Kris dodged to one side just in time to avoid the steely fingers closing around his waist.

Kris knew for a fact that D.O hadn’t created the Titans to be mindless battle machines, so he theorized that the Titan wouldn’t bother trying to balance on uneven legs when it would just fall right back down. He was prepared when the creature lunged forward again. As the Titan’s fist closed around empty air for the second time, Kris brought his sword down on the fingers, succeeding in hacking off two of them. The Titan retreated before leaning forward a third time, and Kris saw the opening that he was waiting for. Ducking under the Titan’s outstretched arm, he raised his sword to the Titan’s neck and cut cleanly through.

The Titan’s body hit the ground with a deafening squeal of metal on stone, and its head bounced a short distance away with a couple dull clangs. Once the sounds died, the beating of Ludin’s wings became obvious, and the dragon dropped to the ground, venomous green eyes surveying the broken body of the Titan.

Ludin was about to say something when a shadow fell over them, and Kris looked up to see a second Titan drop down from the wall. Kris rolled out of the way, but Ludin – being a big, bulky dragon – wasn’t fast enough. The Titan’s broadsword pierced Ludin’s wing, and the dragon’s pained roar echoed through the streets. Kris shot to his feet, ready to rush to Ludin’s aid, but heavy thuds sounded behind him. Two more Titans had joined the fray, casting threatening shadows as they towered over Kris.

With a snarl, Ludin threw off the Titan clinging to him and lashed his tail. “Kris, go! I’ll handle this!”

“But–!”

Ludin laughed. “I’m a dragon, Kris. These things are no match for me!”

Kris hesitated for a fraction longer. He couldn’t risk Ludin’s life, but if he dawdled here any longer, his brothers might escape. However, there was truth in Ludin’s words. A dragon was more than a match for three of D.O’s Titans.

“You better not die on me,” he warned Ludin as he hurried past, ducking under the dragon’s form as Ludin lunged for the two Titans. He thought he heard Ludin snort before they parted. As the distance between them grew, Kris could hear Ludin clashing with the Titans, and he quickened his pace. The stairs leading to the plaza were in sight.

Kris snarled when he saw the platoon waiting for him at the base of the stairs. Almost a hundred soldiers stood in solid formation with swords, spears, and shields raised. Kris wished they would just have some sense of self-preservation and _move out of the way._

“All of you,” Kris seethed, “I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, an elder or a child. If you get in my way, you die.”

The power the Goddess granted him coursed through his body, snaking through his veins in a volatile force. The dregs of Her voice crawled in his head, singing the ephemeral notes that haunted him since his resurrection. Once the power threatened to overflow, Kris abandoned his sword, hurling it into the air where it hung and glowed with a lilac hue. A howl escaped from him as the lilac enveloped his body as well, shaping into long, thin claws on his fingertips. Kris’ voice stopped, but Her voice stayed and gave life to ancient lyrics that no one understood.

Soon, a chorus of agonized cries joined the Goddess’ song as Kris tore his way through the enemy lines. Kris’ claws sliced through metal and wood as though they were tearing through paper, and with the boost from his song, Kris now moved with an inhuman speed. The soldiers saw him coming, but there was never enough time to evade his attacks. If Kris’ previous fights with soldiers could be called skirmishes, then this was a massacre.

Once the last soldier fell, Her song faded. The lilac aura surrounding Kris vanished as silence reigned in the street. Kris’ sword returned to his hand, and he continued on his way, a lone figure of red and white jogging through the sea of corpses in black. His boots left bloody footprints as he climbed the stairs up to the floating stone platform.

_Wait for me, my brothers, _Kris thought as he raised his head to gaze at the Tower of Ancients, _I’m coming to kill you all._

No more soldiers or Titans waited for him as he reached the top of the steps and hurried across the empty plaza. The Tower of Ancients stood over him, casting a long shadow across the ground. Kris was about to run right into the Tower when he noticed some color against the blue-gray walls, and his steps slowed to a stop as he caught sight of his brothers.

All ten of them were present, and judging by their expressions, they had been waiting for him to arrive. Kris scanned their faces and was slightly surprised that he could recognize all of them. He had only ever bothered to spend time with the few he could stand. He didn’t particularly care for the rest and only knew about their escapades through Suho, who was fond of all.

Now, their new leader, Baekhyun, looked down at him with a cold gaze. “It’s been a while, Kris.”

Kris couldn’t resist making a jab. “Well don’t you sound enthusiastic. It’s only been two weeks since we last saw each other. Are you disappointed that I didn’t kill you last time?”

Unease rippled through his brothers at the top of the steps, yet Baekhyun and Chen didn’t react. If anything, their gazes turned steely as Baekhyun replied through gritted teeth, “You are as brazen as ever, always doing your own thing without regard for others…except when it comes to Suho.”

“That’s Suho-_hyung _to you,” Kris corrected.

Baekhyun’s mouth twisted into half a sneer. “No hyung of mine is a traitor.”

Just as Baekhyun finished speaking, Chanyeol piped up, waving an arm wildly as though he hadn’t seen Kris in a thousand years. “Kris-hyung, you finally came to see us! How much did you miss us?”

Next to him, Xiumin and Luhan exchanged looks while Lay spoke in steady tones, “Kris-hyung, if there is something bothering you or if we offended you somehow, why don’t we talk it out? There is no need to kill each other over a disagreement.”

“He’s right, hyung!” Sehun agreed at once, glancing at D.O for encouragement. “If there is a difference, we should make an effort to communicate. We’re brothers, aren’t we?”

Kai glared at him with furrowed brows and pursed lips. “Hyung, if this is some kind of joke, it is _not _funny.”

Tao scoffed and spoke to Kai, although his scornful gaze never left Kris’ face. “Oh, he’s not joking around. Suho was serious when he tried to kill Chen-hyung, and Kris is serious now when he says he’s here to kill us, but is he strong enough to fight all of us at once?”

Ignoring the chatter from the others, Kris smirked up at Baekhyun. “Seems like I’m pretty popular today, wouldn’t you agree?”

A heartbeat’s moment passed, and then Baekhyun replied, “Of course you are. After all, we’re here for your funeral.”

As he uttered the last sentence, Baekhyun opened his arms in gesture and the rest of the Lords – except for Chen – jumped down from the ledge. The eight brothers landed before Kris and drew their weapons, prompting Kris to lift his sword.

“Oh, it’ll be a funeral all right,” Kris muttered as all eight of them charged him at once.

Kai reached him first, and Kris ducked and rolled to the side as Kai swiped at him. The circlet around Kai’s wrist glowed silver. In the blink of an eye, the rock that Kris had been standing on vanished, leaving a rounded hole in the ground. Scowling at the fact that he missed, Kai turned around with his hand outstretched, ready to attack again. However, Kris brought his foot up and drove it into Kai’s stomach, kicking him into Tao, and the two Lords stumbled back as they struggled to regain their balance.

Heat assaulted Kris’ cheek, and he jumped away just in time to avoid a stream of fire. Chanyeol grinned at him once the flames cleared. “Hyung, let’s finish this quickly, okay? I’ve got a whole bunch of kids waiting for me. I promised them piggyback rides!”

“Dead people can’t give piggyback rides, Chanyeol.” Kris dashed forward, evading Lay and D.O as they lashed out at him. Chanyeol raised his arm again and sent another pillar of flames at him, but Kris crouched low to avoid getting burned. Upon seeing Kris’ undeterred charge, Chanyeol faltered for a moment, but those few seconds gave Kris enough time to leave a deep laceration that ran from Chanyeol’s hip to shoulder. A gasp escaped Chanyeol’s mouth as blood gushed from the wound. Kris swung his sword again to kill, but to his chagrin, Lay had caught up to them and blocked his attack, allowing Luhan time to pull Chanyeol away.

Kris didn’t bother chasing them, instead spinning around to confront Lay and D.O. Tao had recovered from earlier and was following, scythe glinting in the sunlight. Kai was nowhere to be seen, but Kris felt a pull on his sleeve and instinctively jerked his arm away. His sleeve tore off and vanished in Kai’s grasp. Then, Lay was before him, and a stinging pain entered Kris’ chest as one of Lay’s scissors pierced his skin.

As the warm blood oozed from the wound, Her voice began to crescendo. Once again, Kris discarded his sword, letting the song envelope him in a bright lilac. He saw his brothers start to backpedal, but they were moving too slow. Kris felt his claws rip through clothing and flesh, heard the agonized cries of his brothers, and saw their blood splatter the ground and dye the cobblestones red. Even after all that remained was the Goddess’ song, Kris refused to let up on his rampage, wanting to shred his brothers into ribbons.

Suddenly, someone clashed with him. Kris snarled at his youngest brother, who was enveloped in a song like him. However, Sehun’s song was a brilliant white, and the Lord hadn’t thrown aside his weapon as Kris had. The fan glowed in Sehun’s hands and emitted a blade of wind that spun straight for Kris.

Kris snorted and tore right through, lilac claws slicing through Sehun’s wind blade with no trouble. Without hesitation, he lunged for Sehun, and he had to give credit to Sehun for trying to keep up, but in the end, Kris had far more experience and the brutality of a rabid dog. Sehun was forced to retreat, returning to the top of the stairs with the rest of his injured brothers.

Kris expected Luhan to confront him next, but to his surprise, Xiumin charged at him, icy spear trailing cold air. Kris dodged the blow and sent a quick glance around the area, thinking that Luhan was circling and waiting for a chance to ambush. Instead, he saw that Luhan was with the wounded, hunched over and sporting several ugly gashes across his chest and arms. Kris figured that he must have managed to catch Luhan as well while he was on his rampage and was glad that he knocked the other out of the fight early. Now, he could focus on Xiumin.

Xiumin’s spear swung through the air, leaving a stream of frost in its wake. Icy spikes erupted from the ground where the tip of the spear collided, and Kris felt the stinging of a cut on his leg when he failed to move away fast enough.

Kris couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up. “You’re still hefting around that spear?” he said to Xiumin, “It makes you look like a squirrel wielding a giant stick.”

Xiumin had never been one to react to taunts, so it was no surprise that Kris didn’t get a response. Instead, Xiumin tucked his spear under his arm and charged. Kris blocked the thrust with his blade, but Xiumin’s strength sent him staggering back several paces.

The two continued to trade blows, and Kris was slowly gaining the upper hand despite the wounds that Xiumin succeeded in inflicting. It took longer for Kris to emerge victorious, but he won in the end and would have killed Xiumin if Luhan hadn’t pulled the Lord of Frost away.

Now that he was the only one standing in the plaza, Kris crossed his arms and lifted his chin to shoot Baekhyun and Chen a challenging look, silently goading them to step down and fight him themselves. He saw Chen move, but Baekhyun was the one to step forward. Fixing Kris with a determined gaze, Baekhyun raised one arm, palm open to the sky, and said, “Angelos!”

The Sigil of Light appeared in the sky, shimmering a blinding yellow as it stretched out like a blooming flower. A hulking shape dropped through it, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Scales of white and gold rippled as the beast reared his armored head and opened his jaws, showing off rows of teeth the length of cooking knives.

The longer Kris looked, the more familiar he found Angelos until at last, he remembered that he had faced the creature before. He let out a snort full of derision. “Well, look who it is! What happened to your _dragon_, Baekhyun? Last time I saw her, she actually looked like a dragon, not a daemon. And wasn’t her name Angela?”

Even from such a distance away, Kris could tell that Baekhyun was glaring at him and trembling in rage.

“Shut up!” Baekhyun spat, “I don’t need to be mocked by you. We swore to use our power to bring peace to the world, and now you want to ruin it all on a whim? How dare you show your face to us!”

As if responding to Baekhyun’s rage, Angelos growled and took a step closer to Kris, baring his teeth in a silent threat.

Kris rolled his eyes and raised his sword. “This is taking too long. Why don’t you just die already?”

It was easy for him to move in close to Angelos and start hacking away, but Kris hadn’t anticipated that his dragon fang sword would have trouble piercing Angelos’ hide. It required several calculated slashes before Angelos’ scales gave way. However, at that moment, Kris saw the daemon’s body tense. Then, Angelos jumped and spun around, and his tail came flying like a whip. Even though Kris managed to block the brunt of the blow, he still felt the air get knocked out of his lungs and had to force himself to keep breathing as he got back up and went for Angelos again.

Yet despite his tough scales and devastating attacks, Angelos had to struggle with a bulkiness that Kris did not have. Fortunately for Kris, Angelos also lacked the natural balance that other creatures had since his wings had been reduced to a mockery of what a dragon’s wings should be. Every step Angelos took was slow and measured as the daemon adjusted his body to compensate. It didn’t take long for Kris to take advantage of this weakness and target Angelos’ legs, aiming for the muscles that were crucial in keeping the former dragon’s body off the ground.

With a cry, Angelos collapsed onto his stomach. For a moment, Kris allowed triumph to flow through his body, thinking that he could finally achieve what he had been waiting for since a few years ago. However, the small elation slipped away when Angelos lifted his head and fired a beam of light at him. Kris almost didn’t have enough time to raise his arm and block the attack.

White-hot agony coursed through his arm, aggressive and unrelenting. Then, the burning leveled off, and beneath the crackling energy of the attack, Kris heard something tear. Suddenly, his left side felt a whole lot lighter than his right. This time, when blood splattered the ground, it came from the ragged stump that used to be Kris’ arm. Instinctively, Kris dropped his sword and reached around to grasp at the wound, legs giving way under a fresh torrent of pain.

Baekhyun had come down from the top of the stairs and now stood between Angelos and Kris, watching the latter struggle on the ground. “Finish him,” he commanded.

Angelos, who had managed to get back up, now opened his mouth. Yellow light gathered in the gaping maw, illuminating Kris’ doom, but Kris had no plans to just roll over and surrender.

Reaching for his sword, Kris gasped as the pain of his missing arm spiked. Then, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, leaning on his sword as he glared at Baekhyun. “You. Will. Die!” he ground out.

He heard the whoosh of wings behind him, and Ludin’s deep voice echoed across the plaza. “Kris!”

“Kill them!” Kris roared. At the same time, a green beam of energy shot past him, heading to where Baekhyun stood before Angelos, and for a moment, Kris allowed himself to hope that Ludin’s attack would make it.

Suddenly, the other nine were by Baekhyun’s side. Their voices rang in a chorus as they summoned their powers. A barrier materialized in front of them, and Ludin’s attack struck it with a deep resonance that Kris felt in his bones. The shield held fast, protecting the Lords and Angelos from Kris and Ludin. Then, Kris saw Angelos move, and a burst of yellow erupted from the Contractor’s mouth, smashing the shield to pieces as it headed straight for Kris. Violet obscured Kris’ vision as Ludin thrust a wing forward to block the assault, but Kris could tell that Angelos’ strength was too much for Ludin. Sure enough, Ludin cracked under the pressure, and Kris was thrown backward with a shout of frustration and surprise. He felt Ludin’s body curling around him in a last effort to protect him as the two of them tumbled and fell over the edge of the plaza.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm going to be trying something new with my updating schedule. Since I tend to neglect my stories whenever I hit a block and/or lose motivation, I'm going to finish writing the entire story before I actually upload any more chapters. This way, I won't leave you guys wondering if the story is ever going to be finished :D  
Take the first chapter as a teaser, and hopefully, this method works better than what I've been doing in the past. If you want to contact me and check up on how the story's coming along or just want to chat about random things, then I'm available on Twitter and Curious Cat:
> 
> [my curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/xAoneko) || [my twitter](https://twitter.com/xAoneko98) || [my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/xaoneko98)


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